CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE SITUATION IN SHEEP AND GOAT BREEDING IN RUSSIA

Kusakin, Ivan
Zakharov, Leonid
Hurbimarzarov
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Moscow, Russia

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ABSTRACT

Number of sheep-keeping agricultural enterprises and farms - 4 538.
Average number of sheep and goats per enterprise or farm - 2 190 heads.
Territories of agricultural enterprises and farms depend on the geographical region of their location and vary from 100 hectares to some thousands of hectares.
Number of agricultural enterprises not keeping sheep - 21 740.
Total number of agricultural enterprises - 26 276.
There are no specialized sheep breeding or goat-breeding enterprises or farms.
Combined output of products from sheep and goat farming over the recent years has greatly dropped and now it is developing by the semi-intensive type.

The main product of sheep farming is fine and semi-fine wool; their production nowadays exceeds 80 percent of the total clip.
The main export products are wool and sheepskins for coats.
Agricultural enterprises and farms sell their products in the form of greasy wool and sheep and goats livestock (for meat and breeding purposes).
Before 1994 no products of sheep and goat farming were exported; nevertheless, over the three recent years - due to the absence of a demand from Russian wool processors - export of wool and sheepskins exceeded its domestic consumption, although that export is economically unprofitable.
At present there are 34 different sheep breeds and 11 goat breeds. The main trends in their production are fine-wool sheep farming and fine-down goat farming.

Agricultural enterprises and farms belong to collective and private forms of property. Nowadays the proportion of privately owned flocks is already exceeding the total flock at collective enterprises.

Agricultural enterprises employ collective and mixed forms of labour.
The majority of enterprises and farms use a seasonal system of coupling and lambing of sheep and goats.
Production of feed for sheep and goats is carried out only at the relevant farms. Concentrated fodders and mineral additives can be bought only in limited amounts.

Sheep and goat farming predominantly involves, manual labour; only sheep shearing and fodder storage are mechanized.

The Association "Ovtseprom" (Sheep Farming) works on the federal level (Moscow), while large sheep farming territories work under corresponding local structures which are the founders of the Federal Association. There are a certain number of similar Farm Associations and Agricultural Cooperatives which organize farmers producing all kinds of agricultural commodities.
Material and technical services are provided by self-efforts of enterprises and farms and also by the relevant services offered by State-owned and private structures.

Over the period 1994-1996 the financial subsidies were allocated to enterprises and farms in exchange for realization of their wool clip to the State resources, but since 1997 these subsidies are paid per number of lamb-ewes or a kid-goats available by the beginning of the current year.

The main problem for stabilization of the situation in that branch of Russian agriculture, and further development of sheep and goat farming, is seeking the support provided by the State and the subsequent production of competitive commodities.
The wastes of sheep and goat farming are disposed of in traditional forms, and due to big cuts in the total flock their utilization is not ecologically harmful.
Regardless of the size of a sheep farm or an enterprise, the level of their production profitability is low.

Our main task today is to preserve the genetic fund of currently available breeds for future stabilization and subsequent development of that entire branch of agriculture.

The target Federal programme for stabilization and development of sheep breeding of Russia has been specially elaborated in order to achieve the aforesaid goals.

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The small ruminant industry in Russia

Sheep and goat breeding has always been very significant for the agrarian sector of the Russian economy. The variety of sheep and goat breeds was much more numerous, in comparison with other domestic animals. Only sheep and goat farming could supply light- and textile industry with such kinds of raw materials as wool, angora, mohair, sheepskins and Karakul lamb skins, and also to supply the foodstuffs industry with meat and milk cheeses, as well as lanolin for the perfume industry.
Agricultural enterprises and farms mainly belong to collective and private forms of property. Now the proportion of privately owned flock is already exceeding the total flock at collective enterprises. Some statistics follow:
· Number of sheep-keeping agricultural enterprises and farms - 4 538;
· Average number of sheep and goats per enterprise or farms - 2 190 heads;
· Territories of agricultural enterprises and farms depend on the geographical region of their location and vary from 100 hectares to some thousands of hectares;
· Number of agricultural enterprises not keeping sheep - 21 740;
· Total number of agricultural enterprises - 26 276;
· There are no specialized sheep-breeding or goat-breeding enterprises or farms.
Russian farmers have accumulated a very unique experience in sheep breeding under harsh climatic conditions; they have developed and introduced a number of programmes targeted at converting low-productive coarse-wool sheep breeding into fine and semi-fine wool sheep breeding. They continue their work aimed at creating and improving semi-coarse sheep breeds to produce white carpet wool. Russian farmers have solved various practical tasks of productive sheep breeding in very different climatic regions of Russia, from zones of highly intensive agriculture to the severe conditions of Western and Eastern Siberia. Nowadays there is a big scientific potential to provide prospective development of this branch of the agricultural industry.
Creation of fine-wool sheep breeds under severe climatic conditions which have never been used for Merino breeding, is a unique phenomenon is the world's practice. For example, in the Chita region where winter temperatures fall below 50°C, there exists the Trans-Baikal fine-wool breed able to produce more than three kilos of clean wool. In the Altai region there is the Altai fine-wool breed, one of the best productive breeds in Siberia, giving more than four kilos of clean wool. The general quality and physical-mechanical properties of Russian wool in a number of cases was significantly improved with the use of Australian stud rams.
Farmers of Central Russia keep locally selected Romanov and Kuchughur breeds; in the Northern Caucasus there are Tushin and Karachayev breeds; in Western and Eastern Siberia there are Kulunda and Buryat breeds. Semi-fine wool sheep breeds have been improved today as well.

The species

Nowadays in Russia there are 48 sheep and goat breeds with different productive properties which produce a big variety of wool types. The majority of these breeds have been created over the past 40-50 years.
But the general situation in this branch of the agricultural industry has been definitely worsened over recent years. The main products, such as wool, goat hair and sheepskins, are the raw materials for our light- and textile industry. But beginning in 1991 there emerged large stocks of wool, due to the significant decline of wool processing and lack of circulating capital in the mills of light- and textile industry. The wool producing branch found itself in a very difficult economic situation, which resulted in a sharp reduction of the total sheep and goat flock of Russia.
If in the beginning of the 1990s some reduction of the flock could be explained by the current situation in the country's economy; the subsequent fall by five to seven-million heads per year could be explained by only one reason: the very low price of wool and negative profitability of wool production.
Compared with 1992, the total sheep and goat flock kept at farms and different forms of agricultural enterprises fell from 55 200 000 heads to 22 800 000 by the end of 1996 (Table 1); the total production of wool fell from 179 000 tonnes to 77 000 tonnes greasy. Over that period of time 33 877 farms and enterprises completely liquidated their sheep breeding (Table 2).

Table 1. Sheep and goats by 1. January 1997 (thousand heads)

agricultural enterprises	9 936
private households	11 940
other farms	896
total flock	22 772

Table 2. Structural distribution of the flock

It is known that a 20-30 percent loss in the number of heads needs up to 10 years to restore the flock; while the loss of over 30 percent needs a 40 to 50 year recovery period. The most urgent task of today is to preserve the remaining sheep in the regions of their traditional breeding and also to save the genetic fund of Russian sheep and goat breeds.
Table 3. Number of sheep and goats in state and collective farms and wool production

in the 1^st half of 1997

	Thousand heads	Actual weight in tonnes	Expected by 1.1.98 All types enterpr.
Total in RF in thousand heads	10 427	14 453	19 000
Northern region	96	87	200
North-Western region	0.4		200
Central	45	28	800
Volgo-Vyatski	45	54	700
Black soil region	258	277	600
Povolzhie (Volga region)	2 490	3 955	3 500
North Caucasus	3 751	7 948	6 300
The Urals	888	912	2 300
Webs Siberia	963	658	1 900
East Siberia	1 987	622	2 300
Far East	0.4		100

Sheep breeds

The problem of preserving the existing sheep breeds is extremely critical for Russia. Nowadays in Russia there are 20 rare sheep breeds and 7 rare goat breeds. The existing sheep breeds can be subdivided by the quantities of their flocks into the following categories:
1. numerous mainly Merino kind of breeds (Soviet Merino, Stavropol, Trans-Baikal,

Caucasus, Grozny, Krasnoyarsk, Altai, Precos, Volgograd) and Tsigay

- over one-million heads;

2. average Mountain Dagestan, Southern Urals, Soviet Meat & Wool, Russian Long-Wool

- 300 000 to 1 000 000 heads;

3. scanty Northern Caucasus Meat & Wool Salsk, Askania, Kuibyshes, Romney Marsh,

Lezghin, Karakul, Romanov, Tuva

- 100 000 to 200 000 heads;

4. rare Viatka, Gorky, Karachayev, Tushin

- 50 000 to 100 000 heads;

5. vanishing Bakur, Volosh, Kulunda, Kuchughur, Oparin, Latvian, Black Head, Telenga

- below 50 000 heads;

6. extinct Kalmyk Fat-Tail, Cherkessk

- none.

Over the recent years we have lost a number of important meat breeds, such as Mikhnov, Bityug and Bokin breeds. Kuchughur sheep and some other rare breeds are on the brink of extinction. All goat breeds belong to the rare category. One exception is the Dagestan milk goat which can be considered as a vanishing breed. Nowadays, milk goats do not exist any longer.
There are 38 sheep breeds in Russia, out of which 24 belong to fine and semi-fine wool breeds. They produce up to 80 percent of the total wool clip of Russia. Russian fine wool sheep breeding has traditionally developed in three directions: production of only wool, wool and meat, as well as meat and wool. Every fine-wool Merino breed contains internal breeding lines. Today we have 15 fine-wool sheep breeds altogether. The most popular semi-fine breeds are Tsigay and Soviet Meat Wool. Among the rest of the Russian sheep, the most important breed is the Romanov sheep from Central Russia, which is well adapted to our severe climate and brings three to four lambs each year.
Romanov sheep are famous for their unique productivity, high quality of sheepskins, very good coarse wool for Russian winter felt boots, the most numerous lambing, and excellent taste of meat. These sheep are the best to be kept on small farms and private agricultural properties.

Goat breeds

Nowadays there are ten goat breeds in Russia. Depending on the production purpose they can be subdivided into the following categories:

1. angora Mountain Altai, Dagestan, Don, Orenburg - 4 breeds;
2. mohair Soviet Woo, Dagestan, Tuva - 3 breeds;
3. milk Saanen and crosses with local breeds, Gorky, Russian Milk - 3 breeds;

The possibilities of future

In order to rescue all the Russian sheep and goat breeding from the current crisis it is necessary to take urgent and drastic measures. The main help must be provided by the state. It is necessary to create a civilized wool market in Russia. The state assistance to sheep and goat breeding is rendered at present in two ways. First of all, it comes as a partial compensation of the expenses to keep the flock at stock-breeding farms, calculated up to 700 000 Roubles per head. Both state sheep farms and private properties obtain specially allocated subsidies from the federal budget, up to 85 000 Roubles per head of a ewe or a goat. The payments are differentiated according to the climatic and economic regions of the country. There are three zones:

1. The zone of most extreme conditions of Western and Eastern Siberia. There are practically no other branches of agricultural production. The zone contains seven Subjects of the Federation.
2. The zone of main resources of sheep and goat breeding, and other agricultural production. This zone contains 20 Subjects of the Federation.
3. The most expanded zone containing 38 Subjects of Russian Federation, but sheep and goat breeding here is not the prefered branch of agricultural production. Starting from next year the subsidies from the state budget will not be allocated here, with the only exception being for the state stock-breeding enterprises.

The farms buying pedigree sheep will obtain some partial compensation of 4 000 Roubles per kilo of the live weight of a young pedigree animal.
The second way to preserve and to stabilize Russian sheep and goat breeding is the production of competitive products.
In comparison with 1991, the production cost of one kilo of wool or mutton has increased more than 1500 times. The average price of Russian wool, with the subsidy and 20 percent profitability of its production, should come up to 60 000 Roubles in 1997 per kilo clean, or over US$10. With such level of production cost, we cannot speak today about any competition capacities from our products. It is necessary to improve the productivity of our sheep and to diminish the costs. It is necessary to revise the plans of selection work, and to provide new breed lines and new breeds, in order to correspond to the current needs of the market.

Breeding, Farming and Trade Organizations

There exists a special "Federal Programme for Stabilization and Development of Sheep and Goat Breeding of Russia". This programme gives the evaluation of the current situation in sheep and goat breeding in Russia and suggests the main directions of its stabilization and development. The main task of the programme is to restore the basic stock-breeding flocks of all productive types. The main priority is given to the Merino, Crossbred and Romanov breeds. It is provided to create the state-owned pedigree farms in order to preserve the genetic line of the Romanov sheep and other vanishing breeds. There will be 26 farms of that kind for 15 sheep breeds and also 9 farms to preserve and develop rare and vanishing goat breeds. The farms and enterprises in the main sheep breeding regions, as planned by the programme, will establish special banks of seed from the best sire rams of Russian breeds, in order to preserve and to further improve the genetic lines of traditional Russian sheep breeds.
Russia needs to establish a civilized market that will allow stabilization of the current situation in this branch of the industry, which has to act as a united edifice for production, processing and realization of its products.
The currently organized wool market will involve collective farms, state farms and other structures in the form of joint stock companies, wool scourers and wool processors, as well as different commercial structures acting as mediators in wholesale and other trading operations.
The level of free market prices for sheep wool and goat hair is recommended to be determined through the system of auction trading. That will require, in all the wool producing regions the opening of a certain number of State-protected permanent auctions for selling greasy wool and goat hair. The starting prices for the basic types of wool should be proposed by the current market prices for the corresponding wool end-products.
I would also like to say that the aforesaid programme is providing the allocation of 5.6 trillion Roubles from the state budget over the period of five years, out of which 5 trillion Roubles are planned to be spent as a partial compensation for the expenses to keep the pedigree flock at the leading farms, and as production subsidies for sheep and goat breeders.
In the case of allocation of these funds and realization of the Programme, the clean profit from all the products over the five years is estimated to be on the level of 10 - 12 trillion Roubles as net income to the State budget.
The Programme was approved in February 1996 by the Presidium of the Russian Agricultural Academy and Collegiate of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, but due to the contemporary difficulties in the economy of Russia, it is financially supported on a limited scale.